Lisa Murkowski Just Endorsed a Democrat. Alaska Republicans Should Answer With One Ballot
Alaska's senior senator backed Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor over Trump-endorsed Bernadette Wilson. A divided Republican field gave her the opening, and only Alaska's conservatives can close it.
By Clara Hughes
There are surprises in politics, and then there is Lisa Murkowski. On Tuesday, one week before Election Day, Alaska's senior Republican senator endorsed the Democrat in her state's race for governor. She chose former Sitka state lawmaker Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, known across Alaska as "JKT", over Bernadette Wilson, the Republican President Trump endorsed this month, and over the two other Republicans still on the ballot. The endorsement came in a news release from the Kreiss-Tomkins campaign. In it, Murkowski urged "Alaskans of every political stripe" to consider backing him. "Our future is too important to be hamstrung by partisan divisions," she said. Alaska conservatives have heard this tune before, and they know how it ends. A pattern, not a surprise Murkowski did not stumble into this endorsement. In 2024 she endorsed Democrat Mary Peltola for the U.S. House, and Peltola lost that seat to Republican Nick Begich. Asked about her habit of crossing the aisle, Murkowski told Alaska's News Source she knows she has "not always been on the Alaska Republican Party's good list." "I recognize that, but that's not my directive," she said. "My directive is to